With the south coast blown out and topside weather inland also looking decidedly wet, five members from Dacorum Scuba headed to Stoney Cove to kick off a weekend of dive training. A wide variety of diving was planned for the day – with one member getting his first experience of diving outside the confines of a pool, another finishing off rescue drills and another exploring the murky depths to 30m. Viz was decent, admittedly far better than anyone was expecting, though it was busy on the shelf.
Water temperatures gradually dropped from a balmy 17 C near the surface to a still decent 9 degrees at depth, but visibility was an easy 3-4m everywhere the teams explored. Lunchtime break brought torrential downpours, and saw divers across Stoney sitting in their cars, huddling under raised trunks or crammed into the gazebo by the cafe. A cold wind blowing through with the worst of it wasn’t really appreciated. However it soon passed, the sun broke out again and by the end of dive 2 it was back to dry and toasty. End of the day for some, with another training day on Sunday to continue training for many more members.
A sunnier day for diving, with more students taking their first forays into open water diving after their pool sessions in the preceding weeks. They were introduced to Stoney Cove with some exceptional 8m viz – not bad for some. Many had new experiences underwater – one trainee noted that he’d never seen a duck from that position before! The dives were enjoyable (and educational, with it being training of course) though it was noted a slight lack of fish life and staff at Stoney Cove suggested it was due to cormorants and other birds preying on them. Other divers dropped “over the wall” and headed down to 25m to visit the delights at that depth, though it did seem to get murkier some seemed to note. Further members had longer explores around the quarry as far as the Gresham wreck and little stone house. Another productive day concluded and lots more training ticked off.
Well done to all the students, everyone who attended and thanks to the instructors and their indefatigable organiser Training Officer Lindsey.
